Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2021 Jun;45(6):1265-1275.
doi: 10.1111/acer.14612. Epub 2021 May 17.

Partner influence as a factor in maternal alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms, and maternal effects on infant neurodevelopmental outcomes

Carson Kautz-Turnbull  1 , Christie L M Petrenko  1 , Elizabeth D Handley  1 , Claire D Coles  2   3 , Julie A Kable  2 , Wladimir Wertelecki  4   5   6 , Lyubov Yevtushok  7 , Natalya Zymak-Zakutnya  6 , Christina D Chambers  8 ; Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CIFASD)
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Partner influence as a factor in maternal alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms, and maternal effects on infant neurodevelopmental outcomes

Carson Kautz-Turnbull et al. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Few studies have investigated the partner's influence on risk factors such as alcohol consumption and depression during pregnancy. Partner substance use and lower relationship satisfaction predict higher maternal alcohol use and depressive symptoms. Because prenatal alcohol use and maternal depression affect infant outcomes, it is imperative to examine how the partner affects these maternal risk factors. The current study examined the effect of a latent construct of partner influence on maternal alcohol use and depressive symptoms, and the effects on infant development of these maternal factors.

Methods: Participants were 246 pregnant women from 2 sites in Western Ukraine from whom longitudinal data were collected as part of a multisite study. In the first trimester, mothers reported on relationship satisfaction, partner substance use, and socioeconomic status (SES). In the third trimester, they reported on alcohol use and depressive symptoms. Infants were assessed using the Bayley Scale of Infant Development (average age = 6.93 months). A latent construct titled partner influence was formed using partner substance use and measures of relationship satisfaction, including the frequency of quarreling, happiness in the relationship, and the ease of talking with the partner. Using structural equation modeling, a model was specified in which partner influence and SES predicted maternal alcohol use and depressive symptoms, which in turn predicted infant neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Results: Higher partner influence significantly predicted lower prenatal alcohol use and lower depressive symptoms, controlling for the effect of SES. Higher maternal prenatal alcohol use significantly predicted lower infant mental and psychomotor development. Maternal depressive symptoms did not predict infant development over and above the effect of alcohol use.

Conclusions: Partner influence is an important contributor to prenatal alcohol use and maternal depressive symptoms, over and above the effect of SES. The significant paths from prenatal alcohol exposure to infant neurodevelopmental outcomes underscore the importance of partner influence during pregnancy.

Keywords: infant; partner influence; pregnancy; prenatal alcohol; relationship.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Standardized factor loadings on latent construct “partner influence.” Indicators are 3 relationship variables (one of which was categorical) and 2 binary partner substance use variables. All variables were coded so that higher values indicated higher partner support (e.g., partner substance use variables were binary with 1 indicating no substance use) (***p < 0.001 and **p < 0.01)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Effect of partner influence and SES on maternal depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption and the effect of these risk factors on infant mental and psychomotor development (***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; and *p < 0.05)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abel EL, & Hannigan JH (1995). Maternal risk factors in fetal alcohol syndrome: provocative and permissive influences. Neurotoxicology and teratology, 17(4), 445–462. - PubMed
    1. Addila AE, Bisetegn TA, Gete YK, Mengistu MY, & Beyene GM (2020). Alcohol consumption and its associated factors among pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis’ as given in the submission system. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 15(1), 1–14. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arenson AD, Bakhireva LN, Chambers CD, Deximo CA, Foroud T, Jacobson JL, Jacobson SW, Jones KL, Mattson SN, May PA, Moore ES, Ogle K, Riley EP, Robinson LK, Rogers J, Streissguth AP, Tavares MC, Urbanski J, Yezerets Y, Surya R, Stewart C, & Barnett WK (2010). Implementation of a shared data repository and common data dictionary for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders research. Alcohol, 44(7–8), 643–647. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bailey BA, & Sokol RJ (2011). Prenatal alcohol exposure and miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm delivery, and sudden infant death syndrome. Alcohol Research & Health, 34(1), 86. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bakhireva LN, Wilsnack SC, Kristjanson A, Yevtushok L, Onishenko S, Wertelecki W, & Chambers CD (2011). Paternal drinking, intimate relationship quality, and alcohol consumption in pregnant Ukrainian women. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 72(4), 536–544. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types